Health balancing board



Oct. 17, 1939. R, HOPPE HEALTH BALANCING BOARD Filed March 8, 1957INVENT'OR:

PICH/IR-D 5. Ho PPS,

Patented Oct. 17, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application March 8,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to devices that may be used by any individual forresting and positioning for the purpose of healthful relaxation andreconditioning of the body and its different parts.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a device upon which aperson may rest in a stretched out position so designed that differentparts of the body may be exposed to the sun or other influences.

Another object is to provide a device so designed that a person restingon it may adjust it while so resting, to bring different parts of thebody to a higher level.

Another object is to provide a device so designed that a persons feetmay take a sufficient hold to allow such different adjustments.

Other objects will appear from the following description and appendedclaim as well as from the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is aside elevation of a device designed according to this invention, oneside frame portion and other parts removed to expose parts to beillustrated.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary illustration of cooperating parts, somewhatschematically, as seen in the direction of the arrow 2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 31s a fragmentary side elevation of the control with an extraoperator's lever.

Fig, 4 is an enlarged vertical mid-sectional View of the setting meansfor the supporting board.

- -Fig. 5 is a slightly modified form of a setting device for thesupporting board in side view.

Fig. 6 is a cross section on line 6-6 of the setting-arch member of themodified form of Fig. 5, showing the control mechanism for holding theboard by engaging with the arch-member.

Fig. 7 is a side view of the foot rest and support.

Fig. 8 is a side view of the tiltable toe-engaging member of the footsupport.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view as seen in the direction of the arrow 9 inFig. '7. V

This is not 'a treatment or operating table, but a means to be used byindividuals on and by themselves, though, of course, it does not meanthat some one else could not help the individual resting on the tiltingboard.

It is a well enough known fact that the habitually adopted posture ofhuman-beings has subjected the human race to many ailments, perhaps dueto the difficulty, if ever so slight, of the blood to rise withsufficient ease to the upper parts of the human body.

On the other hand, not everybody can stand on the head for a suitablereversal of the normal posture, and a less than absolute reversal ofposture would seem sufiicient as long as the normally uppermost andlowermost parts are brought to a changed position to such an extent asto really 1937, Serial No. 129,660

amount to a helpful change, sufficient to beneficially afiect the bloodcirculation.

Moreover, it is not just the blood circulation that is affected by thenormal posture of human beings, but many parts have the tendency to sagdue to habits of years, particularly, such parts as the stomach,intestines, and even any accumulation of fleshy or fat substances aboutthe abdomen.

Not only lack of proper exercises, but often the necessity of sitting atwork will develop the tendency of undue relaxation of the muscles, toresult in undue sagging of parts.

The principal feature had in mind with this invention involves thereforemeans for counteracting such a sagging comfortably, and at the same timefurnishing the means whereby the human body, or any part requiring it,may be exposed to proper influences, such as sunlight, or heat.

As illustrated, a board I0 is tiltably mounted on a cross member ll of aframe structure l2.

Such a board is preferably so designed and proportioned that a body maybe as nearly as possible rested in a balanced condition on this tiltableboard, so as to require only little effort to overbalance it one way oranother.

In the form illustrated in Fig. 1, a bracing rod I3 is provided by meansof which the tiltable board may be held in any adjusted position, oneend of the rod being pivotally connected to the board, as indicated atIt, while the other end is slidingly and adjustably disposed in aclutching, clamping, or setting device, indicated at [5.

This setting device is illustrated in detailed and enlarged scale, in asection along the lines 4-4 of Fig. 1 in Fig 4. Two oppositely disposedjaws i6 and IT are hingedly connected at l8. A bolt i5 is securelymounted in the jaw l1, while freely passing through the other jaw l6,for which purpose a suitably large aperture or slot 20 is provided inthe jaw 85. A spring 2| is arranged in such a manner as to draw the boltl9 through the aperture 2%, a washer 22 being held in position by a pin23 so that the spring 2| engages at one end against the washer 22 whilethe opposite end of the spring engages either directly against theoutside of the jaw 16, or another washer 24 inserted to cover theaperture to prevent a catching of the spring in this aperture, the wholearrangement resulting in a drawing of the jaw ll towards the jaw I6, tofrictionally engage the jaws over the rod l3.

Inasmuch as the jaws are also mounted on the cross bar 25 of the mainframe structure, the

bracing rod 13 controls the setting of the supporting board Ill.

For releasing this frictional engagement it is only necessary toseparate the two jaws, for

which purpose one of the jaws is provided with an engaging or connectingmember or portion 26.

While thus the jaw i? may be moved or drawn in the direction of thearrow Zfagainst the tension of the spring 2!, the other jaw I6 is heldagainst such movement, or against following the movement of the jaw IT,by the stop 28 securely provided on the cross bar 25.

If for any reason the automatic clamping of the jaws is not desired orrequired, as when another person is helping the person resting on theboard, for which case a handle 29 is provided on the board, as indicatedin Fig. 1, the jaws may be separated by means of the set screw 361,indicated in Fig. 4, the board being practically balanced, as previouslystated, it being an easy matter for any person to hold the board in anypsition while another person is resting thereon.

For actuating the jaw it by means of the member 26 in the direction ofthe arrow 27, a rod 3! and lever 32 connect with a handle 33, which isconveniently disposed for the person resting on the board it.

In order to enable a person resting on the board to balance and holdhimself or herself with respect to the main structure 52, a handle 34 isprovided on each of the main end-frame portions of the main structure,near one of which the operating handle 33 is arranged in such a mannerthat the resting person may grasp the actuating handle 53 while alsohaving a secure hold of the handles 34 on the two oppositely disposedend-frame portions.

By having a firm hold of both oppositely disposed main handles 34%, theresting person may easily control the balancing of the board it] as wellas of the body resting on the balancing board, and the releasing orsetting of the bracing may just as easily be accomplished since theactuating handle 33 is within easy reach of one of the main handles 34.

When another person is controlling the balancirm, it is not necessary toeliminate the clamping jaws, since a lever 35 is conveniently locatedfor such other person, whereby to actuate the jaws instead of by thehandle 33, this lever being indicated in Fig. 3 in operative connectionwith the jaw actuating mechanism.

Instead of the brace l 3 and the jaw mechanism, the slightly modifiedform illustrated in Figs. and 6 may just as well be used, embodying anarch member 36 attached to the board it, and a brake shoe 31, operativeby the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 6.

The brake shoe 3? is mounted on a lever 38, which, in turn, ispivotatlly supported at one end as indicated at 39, by means of the link4%, which, in turn, ismounted on one of the cross bars t! of the mainframework. On another cross bar 4! of the main framework, 2. pin 42 isprovided so that a spring 43 can be arranged to be maintained on thispin while the spring is inserted between the second-named cross bar iiand the opposite end Mi of the lever 38 serving as a means for pressingthe brake shoe 3'! with sufficient force against the arch-member 36 tolock and hold the supporting board it) in any adjusted position.

For releasing this type of setting device, a link 45 and a lever i-Bconnect to the same rod ill that has the handle 33, to be operative in asimilar manner as clamping device described above with reference to theillustrations in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Though a person may hold to the handles 34 while resting on the boardH3, foot-rests and engagements are also provided, illustrated in detailin Figs. 7, 8, and 9. A bracket 48 is arranged near each side edge ofthe board H3, at the foot end of the board, so that a pair of bracketsat the opposite edges carry a bar d9, disposed across the board.

A pair of levers 5d are mounted to swivel on the bar 49 and, in turn,carry another bar 5!, parallel to the bar 49. The levers 5B are providedwith hook-ends 52, to engage with the brackets 48 in such a manner thatthe levers 59 may swing to a limited extent.

This arrangement is designed to facilitate a mounting of the structureby a person in such a manner that the person may step on the double barsto mount the structure.

A mounting is best accomplished when the board is disposed in theposition illustrated in Fig. 1, with the foot rest at the lowermost endof the inclined board, so that a person may readily step on thefoot-rest in order to take a proper position on the board Ml.

When a person is stretched out on the board, the feet may be pushedbetween the two bars 49 and 5! by tilting the upper bar 5! in thedirection of the arrow 53 until the feet can conveniently be inserted inthe manner indicated at 54 in Fig. 1, the heel of the shoe of the personbeing quite securely locked between the bar t9 and the board and the bar5i being designed to tilt far enough that the feet of the person restingon the board are realiy sufficiently locked in this hold that the boardit may then be tilted to any desired position, eventually to bring thehead of the person to a low position with the feet pointing distinctlyhigher, the resting person readily holding to the board by the toe-holdand by the hands on the handles 34. I

The person, using this structure, being at all times able to control thetilting movements of the board, may make such adjustments so as to makethe positions comfortable and desirable as well as to comply withanything suggested and advised, and this may readily be according to theadvice of a doctor, to influence the blood circulation as well as tocorrect any displacements of parts of the body, or otherwise help thebody.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

In a device of the class described, a rest-member of elongated form tosupport a stretched-out person, the rest-member having a transversepivot support at about its middle, a rigid stationary frame with meansfor pivotally and tiltably supporting the rest-member, a stationaryhandle on the frame within reach of a person resting on the rest-memberfor controlling the tilting movements of the rest-member, bracing meanson the rest-member and in frictional engagement with the frame normallyholding the rest-member in fixed position, and friction releasing meansincluding a handle normally spaced from the first-named handle butwithin reach of out-stretched fingers of a hand on the firstnamedhandle, the friction releasing movement of the friction releasing meansbeing within contracting movement of the fingers while on thefirst-named handle to facilitate a steadying of the supported personwhile holding to the firstnamed handle and manipulating the frictioncontrolling means with the same hand.

RICHARD E. HOPPE.

